119: Robbery in Xiaohe Village

Yang Chunlai scanned the crowd, his brows knitting into a 'frown'.

The subordinates he had summoned—Azure Dragon Hall, Vermilion Bird Hall, White Tiger Hall, Black Tortoise Hall, and Wang Family Villa—had all arrived.

Only Xiao He Base was missing.

He raised his hand to check his watch, the hands ticking slowly, then looked up at the winding path leading to Xiaohe Village, filled with doubt. Why hadn't Strong Ox arrived yet?

The two had agreed to meet today to discuss the next steps in dealing with the zombies.

Strong Ox was usually punctual, but now that the sun was high in the sky, casting its scorching rays onto the earth and baking heat waves off the ground, that familiar figure still hadn't appeared.

Xiao He Base was primarily composed of young, able-bodied farmers who lacked training; could something have happened on the way?

But last time they dealt with the Three Great Halls, their strength was not to be underestimated.

Just as Yang Chunlai was pacing back and forth in anxiety, the satellite phone in his pocket rang abruptly.

He quickly took out the phone, saw it was Strong Ox calling, and immediately answered: 'Dazhuang, what's going on? Why haven't you arrived yet?'

Strong Ox's slightly urgent voice came from the other end of the line.

It was mixed with the roars of zombies and the shouts of people:

'Big Brother, it's bad!'

'Zombies have surrounded Xiaohe Village, I really can't get away!'

'The village is in total chaos!'

Yang Chunlai's heart tightened suddenly; it was as he had feared.

He hurriedly asked: 'What happened? Speak clearly! How could zombies suddenly surround Xiaohe Village? Could there be something driving them from behind?'

Strong Ox panted heavily, his voice full of exhaustion and tension: 'I don't know where so many zombies came from, they're pouring into the village like they've gone mad.'

'We are already organizing the villagers to resist, but there are more and more zombies, coming in an endless stream, and we can't hold on much longer!'

'Many villagers are injured, and we're running out of weapons!'

'Big Brother, please forgive me, we can't come for now.'

'Please rest assured, as soon as we clear out the zombies here, we will report to you immediately.'

Yang Chunlai found it funny; this place had already been cleared long ago. By the time you get here, the food will have gone cold.

'Don't panic yet. You must stabilize the villagers and tell everyone to hold on a little longer!'

'I'm coming over right now! Tell everyone to find whatever they can use as weapons and guard every entrance to the village!'

After hanging up, Yang Chunlai immediately sprinted towards Xiaohe Village.

He only left one sentence for those present: 'You all head back to your respective bases, lest your homes be ambushed by the zombie horde.'

Before the words had even faded, he was already gone.

Only a cloud of dust remained in his wake.

At this moment, Xiaohe Village was plunged into an abyss of chaos and fear.

Hundreds of zombies had surrounded Xiaohe Village tightly.

They bared their fangs and brandished their claws, emitting blood-curdling roars as they approached the village step by step.

These zombies were varied in appearance; some were in rags, with rotting flesh hanging from their bodies, emitting a nauseating stench;

Others were maimed, dragging severed limbs as they crawled on the ground, leaving a shocking trail of blood with every movement.

But they all had one common goal—to rush into the village and tear the living inside into pieces.

At the village entrance, the village chief, Strong Ox, was leading a group of young and strong villagers in a desperate resistance.

They held various weapons, including hoes, sickles, and homemade spears. Their eyes were full of fear, but more so, they held a desire to protect their home and a longing for life.

Strong Ox brandished a large machete, each swing spraying blood as the zombies beside him fell, but more zombies swarmed up.

His arms were aching from the prolonged swinging, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead, dripping onto the soil beneath his feet, only to be swallowed by the dust in an instant.

'Everyone hold steady, don't panic! Listen to my commands!'

Strong Ox shouted, his voice hoarse but filled with power.

Under his command, the villagers barely formed a defensive line, temporarily blocking the zombies' attack.

However, the number of zombies was simply too high. The villagers' stamina was gradually failing, and the defense line began to loosen.

'It's no use, I can't hold on!'

A young villager shouted. His arm had been scratched by a zombie, blood flowing freely, his face full of pain and despair.

'Hold on, just a little longer! Reinforcements will be here soon!'

Strong Ox said as he desperately hacked at a zombie lunging at the young villager.

But the zombies surged in like a tide, wave after wave, and the resistance of Strong Ox and the villagers seemed increasingly futile.

Just then, a Giant Zombie broke through the defense line.

It was over two meters tall, muscular, with skin showing an eerie blue-black color.

It swung its thick arms, knocking two villagers flying in one go.

Behind it, a large number of zombies followed the gap opened by the Giant Zombie, pouring in like a tide.

'Big Brother Dazhuang, we can't hold it.'

A villager shouted anxiously.

Strong Ox said: 'Retreat!'

He led everyone to retreat while fighting.

At this moment, a villager ran up from behind: 'Village Chief, it's bad, the entrance at the back of the village can't be held either.'

Strong Ox said in surprise: 'What the hell, how did you guys manage this?'

'Attacked from front and back, how can we hold on?'

Hearing this news, everyone showed panicked expressions.

A tidal wave of zombies, a tiny village, it was simply vulnerable.

The village was about to be submerged by the zombie tide.

Everyone fell into despair.

Strong Ox barely summoned his courage: 'Our Big Brother will arrive soon.'

'You can choose not to believe me, but you cannot not believe Big Brother.'

But everyone still didn't believe it.

Even if Big Brother came, it would take several hours by car.

The village chief had only made the call less than five minutes ago.

If they waited for Big Brother to arrive, the village would have long been occupied by zombies.

Just when the villagers were almost in despair, a figure descended from the sky.

The person who arrived was none other than Big Brother Yang Chunlai.

The crowd seemed to see a savior.

Instantly, applause and cheers erupted.

He had seen the village under siege from afar, thick smoke rolling at the entrance, shouts and roars intertwined, and his heart burned with rage.

Without hesitation, he drew his long spear from his waist; this long spear gleamed with cold light and possessed immense power.

Yang Chunlai rushed into the zombie horde like a black lightning bolt.

His figure moved rapidly through the zombie horde.

The long spear in his hand spat tongues of flame continuously.

Every time he pointed, a burst of spiritual power shot out from the long spear in his hand.

Like a bullet, it accurately shot into the zombies' skulls.

The zombies fell one after another, leaving a trail of corpses behind him.

But there were too many zombies. Just as he prepared to turn, several zombies took the opportunity to pounce.

He quickly drew the dagger from his waist, turned around, and the dagger slashed across the zombies' necks, spraying black foul blood all over the ground.

In a few quick moves, dozens of nearby zombies fell to the ground.

Another hundred zombies charged over.

Little Security Guard condensed the air, forming hundreds of ice concealed weapons.

'Attack!'

Hundreds of ice weapons tracked automatically, each one hitting a zombie.

In just a few seconds, hundreds of zombies had been dealt with.

Everyone stared in shock.

We fought for half a day, and Big Brother dealt with them all in less than a minute?

'Big Brother is mighty, we've really seen something today!'

Strong Ox saw Yang Chunlai, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

'Don't worry, Dazhuang, with me here, these zombies can't make any waves!'

Yang Chunlai said loudly, his voice full of confidence.

As he spoke, he continued to kill his way into the depths of the zombie horde.

At this moment, he discovered the Giant Zombie and decided to deal with this big trouble first.

He seized the opportunity and lunged forward.

In the gap of the zombie's attack, he plunged his long spear from top to bottom into the giant's head.

The Giant Zombie collapsed with a crash.

The earth even shook three times.

Seeing Yang Chunlai so valiant, the villagers' fear gradually dissipated.

Morale soared, and they picked up their weapons and joined the battle.

'Everyone attack together and eliminate the stragglers!'

Strong Ox shouted loudly.

Under his leadership, the villagers launched their final charge against the zombies.

With the joint efforts of Yang Chunlai and the villagers, the zombies were finally all eliminated.

The battlefield was littered with zombie corpses, and a thick smell of blood permeated the air.

Yang Chunlai put away his gun, let out a long sigh of relief, and looking at the exhausted but joyful villagers, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

'Alright, it's fine, everyone is safe now,' he said.

Strong Ox walked to Yang Chunlai's side and patted him on the shoulder: 'Big Brother, it's all thanks to you!'

'If you hadn't arrived in time, we would have been in big trouble today.'

Yang Chunlai smiled: 'What are you talking about, Dazhuang, we are brothers, helping each other is what we should do.'

'However, the number of zombies this time was so large, and they suddenly besieged Xiaohe Village. Perhaps there will be a second or third wave of attacks in the future, we must be careful.'

Strong Ox nodded: 'You're right, it seems we have to readjust our defense plan.'

'Not only do we need to strengthen the fortifications, but we also have to find ways to get more weapons and supplies.'

As they spoke, they cleaned up the zombie corpses on the battlefield with the villagers, preparing to meet the greater challenges that might come next.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Yang Chunlai looked around the village and discovered some strange footprints.

These footprints didn't look like they were left by ordinary zombies...

P.S.: For those interested, you can check out my suspense/revenge short story 'I Was Built Into the Wall by My Beloved Boyfriend.' You can find it on Tomato.